Offices with preschool facilities unite people across generational, professional and national lines. While parents work, preschool staff nurture the minds of tomorrow.
RYOZAN PARK Otsuka brings together an incredible variety of people. The shared offices on the 5th and 6th floor are the workplace of up-and-coming creators, university students supporting themselves while they get their degree and mothers balancing work with raising their children. Just one floor up is the preschool, when children aged 1 to 3 spend their day in an English-speaking environment. The preschool unites people across not only professional and generational lines but national lines too - there are children from other Asian countries, North America, Europe and more.
"We felt it was only natural that work and childcare should take place together", explains owner Noritaka Takezawa, accompanied by his wife Rachel. Before opening RYOZAN PARK Otsuka, the Takezawas started their business with RYOZAN PARK Sugamo, a share house and office. RYOZAN PARK Sugamo is a place where work and life coexist. "That taught us how to live as one big family and share tangible and intangible things to make life richer for everyone", Mr. Takezawa says. "Childcare is no different." Sharing among communities has benefits for children, their parents and society at large.
"When a child grows up in an environment like that, diversity is second nature to them, and they develop a wide range of communication skills", Mr. Takezawa adds. "Children are treasures whom the future depends on. We believe that raising resilient children will benefit Japan in future."
Despite their location by the busy Yamanote Line, the neighborhoods of Sugamo, Otsuka and Komagome show many vestiges of the past, with shopping streets full of family businesses, and parks and historic sites that all have a story to tell. In recent years, the area has attracted interest for its cultural innovation, with entrepreneurs and creators from Japan and overseas alike gathering in hotspots such as RYOZAN PARK.
At Halloween, the children put on costumes and go down to the offices for some trick or treating. This is just one of numerous activities that foster interaction between the children and the people who work in the shared offices.
The 5th floor has 11 offices that hold 2-6 workers. The 6th floor is a 166m2 free address office space with plans including night, holiday and single-day use. The 7th floor is an unlicensed preschool where all communication takes place in English.
Address: 5-7F Minami Otsuka T&T Building, 3-36-7 Minami Otsuka, Toyoshima Ward, Tokyo
Phone: 070-5014-2617 (reception open10:00am-4:00pm weekdays)
Hours: 5F FOCUS (separate offices): 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
6F CORE (co-working space): 6:00am-midnight
7F preschool: 9:30am-4:30pm
After graduating from university, Mr. Takezawa studied for a postgraduate degree at American University in Washington DC, which led to a job as a reporter for a local newspaper.
When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, Mr. Takezawa returned home.
He opened RYOZAN PARK Sugamo in 2012 and Ryozan Park Otsuka in 2014.
